Owning Sainthood

Happy All Saints' Day! November 1 is the day the Church sets aside for remembering all the people who have gone before us in the faith, particularly those who don't have their own commemoration day on the Church Kalendar. These are the heroes of our faith--the prophets, apostles, martyrs and saints--whose lives have shown us glimpses of God and whose deeds bear witness to the love that triumphs over death, greed, and despair. And because we believe that triumph to be real and true, we also believe that they live on. They are the Communion of Saints, the great cloud of witnesses who surround us on every side.

But All Saints' Day and the two days adjacent to it (All Hallows' Eve and All Souls' Day) aren't just about those people with the word "saint" in front of their names. Sure, we have much to learn from people like St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Mary, and sure, many of us will never attain to the grand works and miracles God accomplished through their lives. But the word "saints" is used in the New Testament to describe the entire membership of the Christian community. That includes you and me. We are created by God; we are redeemed by the Son; we are sanctified by the Spirit. Because we are God's own, we, too, will triumph over death, and we, too, have the capacity to give light to the darkness that surrounds us. We, too, are part of the great Communion of Saints.

Next Tuesday, November 6, we'll be watching Millions at ECM, a fun and whimsical movie about a boy, Damien, who finds a fortune in British Pounds and has to spend it all before the U.K. switches to Euros. On the surface, it's a movie about money and greed, charity and innocence. But it's also a movie about the Communion of Saints. Damien is fixated on the saints, so much so that he sees apparitions of them, talks to them, and solicits their advice on how to spend the money. In the end, he also discovers that the Communion of Saints is filled with many more people than just those lucky few whose stories have been passed on. Come join us; it will be a great evening. (See the Millions trailer here.)

If you want to know more about the saints who have paved the way before us--both the famous and the lesser known--check out Sam Portaro's Brightest and Best. Sam served as a college chaplain in the Chicago area for years, and he makes the lives of the saints spring to life in these short meditations. (Purchasing it through the link to the left benefits ECM.)

So Happy All Saints' Day. May this day be a holy one for you, and "may you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power ... while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light." Colossians 1:11-12